One with natureCelebrating the arts and migration

The Scenic Arts Festival was originally scheduled Oct. 24 to create art while among nature. However, with the unexpected rain that swept through the Rio Grande Valley, the festival has been moved to this Saturday in conjunction with the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands and Birding Center’s Migration Celebration.

Events run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Birding Center, 714 S. Raul Longoria Rd., and will be hosted by Edinburg Arts. The organization’s Cultural Activities Board seeks to preserve, promote, develop and encourage the community to participate in cultural expression. The City of Edinburg’s Art Coordinator, Magdiel Alfonso, said the Scenic Arts Festival is the first of its kind and is designed to appreciate nature in all forms of art.

“The Birding Center has previously had other festivals with other city departments, but it was mostly outdoor exhibits,” Alfonso said. “The Scenic Arts is different in the sense that everything is interactive and informative. The artists will be present and [attendees] will be able to see the ceramist make things, the painters will be painting live–everything will be nature and naturally oriented in Edinburg.”

The Scenic Arts Festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature painters, sculptors, pottery makers, glass workers as well as poets, musicians and dancers.

In March 2003, the Birding Center in Edinburg was the first of nine to open across the Rio Grande Valley. The purpose of the centers is to expand awareness of and value toward the state’s ecological treasures along the border for 120 miles, from South Padre Island to Roma.

The center has hosted Migration Celebration for at least six years with different themes such as the monarch and bird migration. Interpretive naturalist Monica Barrera, who works at the center, said it will be celebrating migration for animals as well as humans.

“We’re celebrating the migration of animals in general–just the fact that they migrate–they go from one place to another,” Barrera said. “It’s just incredible how, depending on the species, they travel a certain distance, they know exactly where they need to go. It’s like the [animals] are programmed to migrate whether they’ve done it before or not.”

The Migration Celebration, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will include handcrafts, face painting and other outdoor activities.

To end the night, the park will show Disney’s “Earth,” a film that features wildlife across the globe at 7 p.m..

Those interested in volunteering may contact Barrera at 381-9922. The deadline for volunteer sign-up is Thursday.